Grounded
by xdragonslayerx
Summary: A discovery in the midst of a snow storm leads to an interesting revelation about a certain winter spirit and a creature of darkness. Slight AU! Fluffy


**Disclaimer:** I don't own "Rise of the Guardians" or "The Guardians of Childhood" because I'm not that awesome. I make no money from this fic, and I'm sure Dreamworks and Willaim Joyce revel in that face (jerks).

**Author's Note: **Okay, I'm not sure why this keeps happening, but little one shots keep hitting me over the head for this verse right before bedtime. It's kind of annoying, but also kind of awesome. I'm really not sure if I want it to stop or not, so whatevs. Here's another little fic for ROTG! It's a slight AU, so no complaining about non-canon stuff going on here.

Also, if you get the chance, check out _Hush _and _A Dark Blizzard_. More AU oneshots of ROTG by me!

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**Grounded**

The snow storm struck Europe hard. The abrupt nature of the weather anomaly set off alarm bells in the unseen creatures of the world. Fae, sprites, and even leprechauns took cover, fearing another Ice Age from Mother. The Man in the Moon observed the white clouds covering the continent. Noticing the danger to children and adults alike, he called upon his most trusted friends to stop the one behind it.

Shortly after hearing his call, the Guardians landed together outside of a sleepy little town with weapons at the ready. The snow and ice swirling through the North took point with Bunnymund close at his heels. Toothiana flew to the skies with Sanderson, the dream weaver flying on a airplane made of golden sand. The magical four blasted through the snow and ice, barely able to see.

They followed the storm to its epicenter, to the east part of town. High above the town's church steeple, a figure twirled around and around, a laughing silhouette in the night sky. They couldn't see very well, but they could hear him just fine.

Tooth raced forward shouting, "Hold it right there!" Only to find herself suddenly face to face with a…flying snowman?! "Wahhhh!"

BAM! The snowman collided with the fairy, sending her careening backwards. Sandy called out to her, but only silence filled the winter air. Sandy dove down, catching Tooth in midair. Tooth rubbed the snow off the front of her body.

Sanderson flew back, forming a dream sand machine gun in his hands. When the little gold man saw the silhouette again, he shot little sleep pellets at it, trying to knock the wild winter spirit out. However, the wind blew a small cloud away to reveal yet another slim snowman standing with a grin atop the church.

Sanderson glared at it, shooting the thing down purely out of annoyance. A giggle beside him made Sandy turn his head. A silver haired boy sat on one of his dream wings, a shepherd's staff in hand and a wicked grin on his face.

"You must be the Sandman!" The boy flew forward. "And you," he pointed with his staff towards Tooth, "must be the Tooth fairy!" The boy zoomed over to her. "You're much prettier than I imagined." He winked at her, making Tooth blush a little bit.

Tooth quickly shook her head, bringing up a fist. "Well, I don't know who you are, but you are going to stop this blizzard right now, or we'll-!"

"What?" The spirit asked as he formed a snowball in his hand. "Give me a quarter? A present? A dream? Please!" The boy rolled his icy blue eyes as he tossed the snowball with a flick of his wrist, hitting Bunnymund below dead on in the face.

"Ahh!" The Easter bunny sailed backwards. "Was that-?" Bunnymund sat up from the attack. "A snowball?"

North pointed his sword up at the flying, laughing boy. "You there! Are you cause of all trouble?"

Seemingly ecstatic to catch North's attention, the flying snow boy drifted down towards him. "Yes, sir! That'd be me! Am I on the naughty list?" The boy twirled his staff around and around, throwing it in the air and catching it again.

North motioned to the snow coming down in waves and waves all around him. "What you think? I reward snow storms and bad ice? No! No present for you!"

"Aw, and here I was hoping I'd get a pony." The frost child gave him a big grin. "Tell Phil I said, 'Hi,' by the way." Jack formed ten snowballs in the air before sending them darting towards North and Bunnymund.

North sliced the bits of snow easily with his swords. Bunnymund swung his boomerangs to try and hit the source of the problem. The impish spirit only taunted, "Can't hit me! Oh, so close! Nice! Almost! Not quite!" with each try.

Bunnymund called out to Sanderson, "Oi! How about a little back up, mate!"

Sandy saluted before flying towards the dodging rascal. Tooth let out a small battle cry before she charged at him as well. The winter wonder dodged all of their strikes and grabs, ducking boomerangs, dream sand bullets, and Tooth's punches.

After a bit, the scamp finally fought back, flinging a wave of ice at Sandy's plane. The Sandman managed to bail out before it hit the ground, rolling to a stop near Bunnymund. Tooth chased the boy around the church steeple over and over and over again, until she found he wasn't there on her next circle.

Instead, she felt a small finer tap on each wing, frosting them over. Tooth let out a small cry, but only fell a short ways onto a big, soft snow pile. Tooth let out a frustrated sound as she smacked her fist into the snow. "Quit toying with us and fight!"

"Aw!" The boy drifted in front of her. "But that's no fun!" Devilishly, he grinned before zooming into the air. "And I love fun!"

Bunnymund growled as he readied his boomerangs again. "Oh, I'll give ya some fun, mate! And it'll be-." Bunny's ears quivered. The pooka turned his head to sniff and see behind him.

To his absolute shock none other than the Boogeyman, Pitch Black, stomped past him with a scowl.

Bunny opened his mouth to shout a warning, but stopped when Pitch growled out the words, "I will handle this." The Boogeyman materialized a long whip made of darkness and fear.

"JACK! FROST!" Pitch shouted up at the giggling winter child. "What have I told you about tricks?"

The snow child, apparently named Jack, gave Pitch a small smirk. "Not to get caught?"

Pitch's snapped his whip in the air. "You get to the count of three to come down on your own! One!" Pitch put a solitary finger pointedly in the air.

Jack huffed, turning his back on Pitch.

"Two, three!" Pitch expertly cracked his whip up, up, up! Jack didn't see the black sand wrap around his ankle, but he certainly felt it a second later when Pitch tugged him down to the earth. With a long scream, Jack fell fast.

Pitch flicked his wrist, creating a small pillow of nightmare sand for the boy to land on. Jack connected with a small, "Oomph!" Pitch flicked his wrist again, putting up a dark cage around the boy. Jack sputtered out a few weak protests, "Pitch! Wait! You can't do this!"

Pitch stomped over to Jack's cage. He reached in, tearing the staff out of Jack's hand. Instantly, the storm died away. Clouds moved aside, revealing a starry winter's night, the moon glowing happily in their midst. Tooth's wings were free, allowing her to fly over to the other Guardians.

"You are in so much trouble, Jack." Pitch pointed at his charge. "And don't even think about freezing your way out of there or I will keep you in it for a month!"

Pitch turned to the Guardians, all standing around him with jaws hanging down to the snow covered ground. Pitch gave them all deadpanned looks, "What?"

Tooth fluttered over. "Um, Pitch?" Tooth asked with a little awe in her voice, "Is this your son?"

"I suppose in a manner of speaking, yes." Pitch twirled the freezing staff in his hand before using it to point at the pouting snow boy in the cage. "This is Jack Frost." Pitch put a hand on Jack's silver hair. "He is my ward, of sorts. I found him lost and all alone in the dark. No memories, no family, no place to call home. Only a name, given to him by the Man in the Moon." Pitch pointed up at the sky to the bright globe shining in the night.

"Manny?" North stared at Jack in a new light. "Manny made you?"

Jack pulled his hoodie over his head, refusing to answer. Bunnymund grumbled to North, "Bratty little thing, ain't he?"

"That would be my fault." Pitch said with a soft sigh. "I spoil him, I'll admit." Pitch patted the top of Jack's frosted hoodie. "I've let him be a bit of a wild child over this last century or so."

"Crickey…" The Bunny pointed to Jack. "He's a child?!" He wordlessly pointed up at the now calm sky, as if to say, "A child did that?!"

Pitch gives Bunnymund a smug grin. "Well, a two hundred or so year old child, but yes, I would say he is only a boy. What do you think, Jack?"

Jack ducked his head and turned away from Pitch. "I don't like bunnies."

"Oi!" Bunnymund hopped closer to the cage. "What'd I ever do to you?"

Pitch waved his hand dismissively. "He's just being petulant because I ruined his fun." Pitch turned to the Guardians, giving them his full attention.

North motioned to the boy. "You've been taking care of him? Why?"

Pitch glared at North. "When you all cast me out, I was alone as well. No one saw me, no one believed in me." Pitch tightened his grip on the staff. "I was consumed with thoughts of revenge, but…" Pitch motioned to Jack, "then I found him. He saw me, believed in me, and, well…"

Pitch's eyes went soft as he ran his grey fingers through Jack's silver locks. "We became a family."

Pitch motioned to the snow around him with the staff. "And as his father, I apologize for his recent behavior. I don't know what got into him!"

Sanderson waved a hand to get everyone's attention. Sandy made a sand model of a baby, then an arrow pointing up, and then a tall man in quick succession.

Pitch nodded. "I know he's growing up, but that's no excuse to go about making a mess of all of Europe!" Pitch indicated to the houses nearly drowning in snow. "It's a catastrophe!"

Tooth flew a little ways over to Jack's side. "Maybe...we could help?"

Jack peeked out at her from under his hoodie. Tooth gave him a big smile. Jack hesitantly returned it with a small smile of his own. North caught the look they shared and stroked his beard.

Pitch tapped the staff to the side of his head, "I don't know. Jack is rather mischievous…"

North walked over to Pitch. "Oh, Pitch, come on!" North slapped a hand to Pitch's back. "You need break! Jack needs fun. I say we take boy off hands. Maybe we teach some things, no? Like how to control crazy snow times! What you say?"

Pitch cast a glance at Jack, who was showing off making little ice sculptures for Tooth. "I guess I could use a break."

"Yes!" North put a fist in the air. "First stop, de pole! Then, cookies! Then, teach boy proper winter manners. Is good plan!"

Pitch swung the staff at North. "No! First, Jack goes back home to think about his bad behavior, and then he can go play at the pole."

North stared at Pitch, pleasantly surprised by the voice of a father coming from the once evil man's mouth. North grinned at Pitch as he nodded. "Okay! Your plan better."

"Really?!" Jack smiled brightly as he griped the bars of his cage. "I can go?"

Pitch sighed. "Yes, you can go, after-."

"I know! I know! I'll be so good!" Jack promised as he bounced on the tips of his frost toes. "Oh, thank you, Pitch!"

The Boogeyman rolled his eyes. "I'm just know I'm going to regret this."

Sanderson waved a hand to catch Pitch's attention. Sanderson made a snowflake, then a big tooth, and then a huge heart with an arrow through it. Pitch gasped. He turned to see Tooth and Jack babbling away. The light in their eyes was unmistakable.

Pitch turned to North, but North was already hatching plans with Bunnymund off to the side. He heard Bunnymund say the terrifying words "tie dyed Nightmares" and Pitch shuddered in fear.

Pitch shook his head at Sandy. "No, no," Pitch said, "I'm not ready for all of this!"

Sandy shrugged his shoulders as if to say, "Too bad!"

Pitch slapped a hand over his face with a groan. "Why do I feel like the one being punished?"

Sanderson let out big puffs of silent laughter, more than amused that the once great and terrifying Boogeyman had been grounded by parenthood.

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I hope you enjoyed it! Reviews, pretty please!


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